thenhlfandomcom-20200215-history
Marc Savard
| birth_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | draft = 91st overall | draft_year = 1995 | draft_team = New York Rangers | career_start = 1997 | career_end = present }} Marc Savard (born on July 17, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently under contract to the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the New York Rangers (by whom he was originally drafted in 1995), Calgary Flames and the Atlanta Thrashers. Marc has not played since late in the 2010-11 NHL season due to post-concussion syndrome. Playing Career Early Career (1993-1999) Marc played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Oshawa Generals, beginning in 1993–94. After his second season with the Generals, in which he scored a league-leading 139 points, he was selected 91st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Marc continued to play in the OHL for two more seasons and earned his second Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as league leading scorer in 1996–97 with 130 points. He then added 27 points in 15 playoff games, guiding the Generals to the 1997 J. Ross Robertson Cup and an appearance in the 1997 Memorial Cup. In 1997–98, Marc was assigned by the Rangers to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack. He put up 74 points with Hartford while being called up to play in 28 games for the Rangers in his rookie professional campaign. The following season, Marc earned an expanded role with the Rangers and recorded 45 points in 70 games. Calgary Flames (1999-2002) On June 26, 1999, Marc was traded to the Calgary Flames along with the Rangers' first-round choice (Oleg Saprykin) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for the rights of Jan Hlavac and Calgary's first (Jamie Lundmark) & third (which was later traded back to Calgary who selected Craig Andersson) round choices in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He continued to improve with the Flames and in 2000–01, he finished second in team scoring to Jarome Iginla with 65 points. Atlanta Thrashers (2002-2006) On November 15, 2002 (shortly after he started his fourth season with the Calgary Flames), Marc was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Ruslan Zainullin. Playing with superstar wingers Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, he became a point-per-game player and recorded 52 points in 45 games during an injury shortened 2003–04 season. Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Marc played in the Swiss hockey leagues on teams such as HC Thurgau of Nationalliga B and SC Bern of Nationalliga briefly. When NHL play resumed the following season, he emerged as a top talent in the NHL with a career-high 97 points which was good for ninth overall in the league. Boston Bruins (2006-current) At the end of his breakthrough season, Marc became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Boston Bruins to a four-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006. He picked up where he left off in Atlanta and led the Bruins in scoring in his first season with the team, tallying 96 points. His 74 assists were good for third in the league for the second consecutive season behind Joe Thornton (92) and Sidney Crosby (84). In his second season with the Bruins, Marc was named to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2008, replacing an injured Dany Heatley. He scored the game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in the third period. Although Marc's offensive production was cut down to 78 points because of injury in the 2007–08 season, he made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut after eleven seasons in the NHL. As the Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, he scored his first NHL playoff goal in the first overtime of game three. Marc tallied 6 points in the series, but the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens in 7 games. Marc was named as a reserve to his second All-Star game in Montreal the following season, in 2008–09 and helped lead the Bruins to a first place finish in the Eastern Conference. He led the Bruins in scoring with 88 points in 82 games before adding 13 points in 11 post-season games. Playing the Canadiens in the first round for the second consecutive year, Marc and the Bruins swept the series in four games. He advanced to the second round for the first time in his career, where the Bruins were eliminated in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes. Seven games into the 2009–10 season, Marc sustained a broken foot while inadvertently blocking a shot. After he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, tests revealed he had been playing with an injured foot since taking a previous shot in the foot during training camp. Marc was placed on the long-term injured reserve on October 21, 2009. Shortly after returning the lineup, the Bruins signed Marc to a seven-year extension on December 1, worth $28.05 million (approximately $4.2 million per season). The deal is spread out with approximately $14 million the first two years and $14 million for the remaining five. On January 7, 2010 (after only 28 seconds into his first shift on the ice) Marc suffered a right knee injury after colliding with Jonathan Toews from the Chicago Blackhawks. After getting an MRI, he was placed on injured reserve with a minor MCL tear in his right knee, but no surgery was required. Concussion On March 7, 2010, Marc suffered from a Grade 2 concussion in the 3rd period of the Bruins game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking a hit to the head from Matt Cooke. The on-ice officials did not penalize Cooke for the hit. On March 10, 2010, Colin Campbell declared that the league would not suspend or fine Matt Cooke. The hit and its aftermath were part of the key evidence that caused NHL to institute a new rule that more heavily penalized blindside hits. Marc was not taken to a hospital following the incident, but stayed behind at a Pittsburgh hotel for the night before returning to Boston the following day. He recovered enough to be cleared to play for the 2010 postseason against the Philadelphia Flyers after their victory against the Buffalo Sabres. Marc scored the winning goal in overtime in the Bruins Game 1 win of the series. On January 23, 2011, he then suffered a second concussion on a hit by former Bruin Matt Hunwick in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. On February 8, 2011, the Bruins opted to shut him down for the season after he received his second concussion in ten months. The Bruins went on to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Due to recurring symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, Marc was not able to travel to Vancouver to take part in the on-ice victory celebration with his teammates, but he was able to join them back in Boston for the official victory parade Despite his not having played the required number of games for his name to be automatically included in the Stanley Cup engraving, the Bruins petitioned the league to include Marc's name on the Cup, along with teammate Steven Kampfer. On August 1, 2011, Marc enjoyed his personal day with the Stanley Cup on August 1, 2011, in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario. At that time, he announced that he was still suffering the effects of his injury. On September 12, 2011, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announced that his name would be included on the Stanley Cup as he had missed games only because of injury. On August 31, 2011, it was announced that he had been shut down for the 2011–12 season by GM Peter Chiarelli. Chiarelli was quoted as saying: "Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I'm told, it's very unlikely Marc will play again." As of the 2015–16 season, Marc has not played since his concussion. On July 1, 2015, his contract with the Bruins was included in a trade of Reilly Smith to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jimmy Hayes due to salary cap circumstances. On June 10, 2016, Marc's contract was once again traded, but this time to the New Jersey Devils. He was traded along with a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in return for Paul Thompson and Graham Black. Career Statistics Awards & Achievements *Won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (OHL top scorer) in 1995 and 1997 *Won the CHL Top Scorer Award in 1995 *Named the NHL Offensive Player of the Week for October 5–8, 2005 *Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2008 and 2009 *Won the Stanley Cup in 2011. Records *Oshawa Generals franchise all-time points leader - 413 points in 238 games (1993–94 to 1996–97) *Atlanta Thrashers franchise record for most single-season assists (69 in 2005–06) *Atlanta Thrashers franchise record for most assists in consecutive games (7 in 2 games) (November 11–12, 2005) Personal Life During the offseason, Marc qualified for the 2007 Royal Canadian Golf Association's Canadian Men's Mid-Amateur Golf Championship. Category:1977 births Category:New York Rangers draft picks Category:New York Rangers players Category:Calgary Flames players Category:Atlanta Thrashers players Category:Boston Bruins players Category:Oshawa Generals players Category:Hartford Wolf Pack players Category:SC Bern players